


About Blake

by EloKhalil



Category: Adam Levine (Musician), Blake Shelton (Musician), Shevine - Fandom, The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: M/M, Minor Miranda Lambert/Blake Shelton, Shevine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-18 07:05:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EloKhalil/pseuds/EloKhalil
Summary: it's late at night, Adam can't sleep. while counting his blessings, his train of thoughts led him to Blake! he is contemplating Blake's relationships and happiness (part1), would things lead up to Blake spending the night over at his place (part2-3)?Part 4 and 5 are up! Is Adam leaving the voice?Part 6: how would Blake react to the news of Miranda's getting married and who will he turn to to seek comfort?





	1. Thoughts about Blake

It's 1 after midnight, Adam has just finished putting little Gio back to sleep, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and gently tucked her in her crib. He went back to his bedroom glanced over to Bee who was peacefully sleeping next to Dusty Rose. Oh man he sighed. Usually whenever Dusty Rose would insist on invading their bed, he would wait until she would fall asleep and carefully carry her to her own bed, but this time the sight of the two sleeping so angelically kept him from doing so, plus he did not want to risk waking Bee up, she needed all the sleep she could get. So he decided to crawl in the bed next to these beautiful ladies doubting though he would fall asleep as peacefully and quickly as they did, but he needed to accustom himself to sleeping whenever the kids are sleeping, otherwise he would get no sleep at all. And with the voice filming starting early morning he had to wake up as ready and fresh as can be. He shifted in bed quite a bit thinking about how God has blessed him with so many gifts over the past years, a gorgeous wife and 2 adorable daughters, a life he never dreamed of ever having back in the days when he rocked and partied hard all night long. Those nights are long gone he thought. He is now a dad.

His blessings were not just limited to a beautiful family, he was also blessed with having a successful career with his band Maroon 5 who their latest single hitting number one on all major charts is nominated for a Grammy award ... And then there is his JOB; The Voice! And Adam calls it a job very lightly, because the voice is so fun to do it is almost unfair to be called a job. The voice is now starting its 16th season, WOW 16th season! How the hell did time fly so fast? Although he has being doing it for more than 7 years now, Adam is eagerly looking forward to get back to the set, he is looking forward to seeing how this new season will unfold. Would this be the season he will finally be able to beet Blake? Oh boy he exclaimed, if only this could really happen! The amount of crap he would give Blake afterwards would just be priceless and overwhelming to say the least. Oh man, the teasing and the rubbing in, the sweet revenge he would finally be able to taste, and above all the look of defeat on Blake's face afterwards would be the ultimate satisfaction.

He chuckled a bit at the idea but soon found himself unable to carry on with that thought, he loved that big giant so much that he can't even picture a defeated and tortured Blake for too long. Come to think of it he hasn't really seen Blake with a defeated look on his face in a fairly long time; not since that day, his famous split from Miranda! That day Adam opened his door to a broken, crushed, inconsolable Blake. That day he really met the very vulnerable side of his best friend. The insecurity, the self-deprecation, those were not just a playful façade for the camera! Boy can Blake be self-conscious. It took Blake quite of few days of mourning, a lot and lot of drinking, and a fairly big number of comedy acts from Adam to finally get him to smile again in weeks since the split. And if it wasn't for the voice to keep him distracted Adam thought that Blake would've ended up in a really dark state of depression.

Knowing Blake and how much he loved Miranda, Adam thought his friend would never date ever again. But that was soon proven wrong when Blake told him about his relationship with Gwen. At first Adam could not believe it, Blake and Gwen were the complete opposite, and they share absolutely nothing in common. Gwen wasn't the type to hook up with a country man and Blake always made it clear that the dumbest thing he would ever do was to date a city girl. Ha, Guess opposites do really attract. At first, much like everyone else in this world, he thought their relationship wouldn't make it past one year, but much to his surprise and to everybody else's they are currently going on their 4th year together.

Blake always told Adam that Gwen is a gift from God, she is by his words "the symbol of beauty", the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, the nicest person in the whole world, the most caring and sweet girlfriend, a bad ass rocker and above all a really great mother. He literally over appreciated every single quality of hers, he even questioned the reason why she would agree to go out with him in the first place. But soon afterwards Adam saw the positive side of this relationship. Being with Gwen's family and kids, Blake was never bored; they were always doing stuff together whether at her place in L.A or at his ranch in Oklahoma. He was always surrounded by children and family and he always felt comfortable around them. And when Adam asked him if he really loves Gwen Blake stated in disbelief: what's not to love about her.

Despite all these positive aspects of their relationship, Adam was never convinced Blake believes she really is the one for him. Not because Gwen is not a great person because she really is and she and Adam are really close friends but because he does not see the passion in Blake's eyes whenever she is around or whenever he speaks about her. and when he finally asked him why they haven't tied the knot yet, Blake answered the same answer he gave to the press when they did so: that they are in such a beautiful place in their relationship right now that they just want to savor the moment and coming both from failed marriages, they didn't want any commitment to risk ruin what they have.

But the real reason behind Blake not wanting to commit to Gwen despite their strong relationship, Adam knows it all too well, it's .... Miranda.

Despite finalizing the divorce 3 years ago, Blake obviously never got over his feelings for Miranda.

And this realization does not arise from Adam's wit or intelligence all alone, everyone could notice the love and yearning he still have for his ex-wife whenever his eyes would light up every time her name comes up in a conversation. He once even drunkenly admitted that to Adam after the news of her split from her latest boyfriend broke. And that famous karma tweet?... yeah it was done under the Vodka influence! At that time though Blake assured Adam that whatever feelings he still has for Miranda he is able to shut them all down not just because of what she did to him and their love but also because he is in such a "happy place" with Gwen right now and he doesn't want to risk losing it all for some feelings that he can bet were not reciprocated. You see, Miranda still holds some gigantic grudge against him for hitting her hard with those divorce papers even though he promised to give their marriage another chance and try to work things out between them despite that fling that she apologized for almost a thousand time and assured him that it meant nothing more than that one night stand Blake has had with a random girl while on tour few months earlier. The only difference though Blake emphasized, was that he confessed the whole thing to Miranda blaming it all on liquor and sexual needs without her prompting him to do so, on the other hand Blake had to find out about Miranda's cheating after investigating the matter and suspecting it for quite some time. And Miranda never came clean about it until she was caught with hard evidence.

Ever since he started his new relationship with Gwen, Blake hardly ever mentioned Miranda though in public, he was content with what he had and despite the lingering mixed feelings of pain and lust and love and hurt and betrayal he managed to keep them all too deeply hidden to be dug out.

But ever since Blake knew of Miranda's newly single status, all these feelings started to somehow magically surface one by one and he found himself recurrently thinking about her. And Adam noticed that about him all too quickly.

 

Still unable to drift to sleep his train of thought continued towards Blake's direction, He thought about how Blake deserves some happiness in his life. What an amazing guy he truly is, Adam is blessed to have known him. Since the very first day they met, Blake was always a cheerful and funny person. Being around him is somehow addictive. Wherever Blake is, you always see a small crowd of people gathering, listening gleefully to his anecdotes and tales. He has such a strong and attractive personality that everyone wishes to befriend him. Adam can't blame them he noted to himself, after all Blake really makes such a good friend. At least he is a great one to him. He is always caring, always checking up on him making sure he is ok, despite giving him all kind of crap in front of the camera because well that's "what they do". 

Adam remembers the recent incidence when hell broke loose and he was attacked by the whole world for asking people to vote for a contestant on his team and not the other. Blake never missed to call him shortly after to make sure he is not too bummed about it and to tell him that although this being the dumbest move he ever pulled on the set of the voice he should totally forget about it and not letting it affect him in any way, and he even gave him a few pointers to start with the next season admitting that he would love to see him win for a change or at least come ahead of him. And Adam knew that Blake wasn't being all sarcastic here, he really wanted the best for his friend.

Reciprocally and after he himself lost all hopes of winning, Adam was secretly wishing that Blake would win the last season. But when that didn't happen he playfully told Blake that it was karma for him being such a dick about him not making it to the finale. 

Adam sighed at the thought of the Finale! Although he did not have anyone left on his team, last season's finale wasn't all disappointing to him, at the contrary it was actually a night to remember because that was the night he finally got Blake to call him daddy! A task he always dreamed about but never had the opportunity to execute. Reliving that sweet finale moment left a huge grin on Adam's face and his eyelids are now getting heavier. He was drifting in and out of sleep when suddenly his cell phone beeped loudly announcing an incoming WhatsApp message! He flinched at the sound and cursed under his breath when he realized he forgot to put his phone silent earlier in the night. He glanced over his wife and daughter and took a big sigh of relief when he saw they were still sleeping unaffected by the sound. He reached for his phone to switch on the silent mode not really caring about reading the message he received, and as he was placing the phone back onto the counter to his left a second message appeared on screen. It reads" new message from Country Tinkerbell".

(to be continued)


	2. The Ride Home

Adam unlocked his phone with a perplexed look on his face. Why would Blake send him a message so late at night? He checked the time it's now 2:05 AM, isn't he supposed to be sleeping at this late hour? He questioned. And he couldn't help but to chuckle at the realization that he still had Blake's name saved as "country tinkerbell" from the finale last season and he never really changed it back.

He finally opened Blake's message and it reads: hey, U awake?

Intrigued by his friend's question he answered: yes, is all ok?

And then for a noticeable amount of time he could see Blake was typing but no message would appear on screen and just as Adam was reaching the very end of his patience finally comes Blake's answer: "I need a place to crash for tonight". Adam was still staring at Blake's message reading it over and over again as to trying to make sense of it, why would Bake be needing a place to sleep? is he serious? Or is it some kind of a prank he is pulling? And as if Blake could read his mind, a series of 3 short messages followed instantly:

"am out of the house",

"forgot to take my wallet"

"had a few beers earlier".

As he was reading these last messages he started to get a little worried, he could sense that his friend is being honest and that he might actually be in some sort of trouble or distress, so he decided to call him up.

He carefully slipped out of bed, tiptoed downstairs and when he reached the kitchen door he immediately pressed on the call button. As soon as one ring registered he could hear Blake's voice on the other end.

"Hello?" Blake answered hesitantly.

"Blake! are you Ok? What happened?" Adam asked worriedly

"Shit Adam, am sorry did not mean to wake you up, but I needed a place to stay. I mean I just want to borrow some money from you, I will stay at a hotel... Listen I will order a cab to your place, I'll call you up when I arrive then you can maybe give me the money for the hotel. I'll be there in less than an hour, will pay u back tomorrow at the voi.." Blake was almost out of breath, practically mumbling his words with super speed when he was interrupted by Adam.

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down buddy! You sound like an auctioneer. Calm down, take a deep breath and answer my question: Are u ok? U're not injured or in some kind of a lurking danger?"

"what? No, am fine", Blake retorted, "I mean it's cold and I don't have a jacket on but I will survive"

"Ok Just tell me where are you and I will come pick you up" Adam responded firmly. "you are still in L.A am hoping?", he playfully added.

Blake protested a bit, insisting on wanting to Uber his way to Adam's place, borrow the amount of money needed for the ride and the hotel stay and leave Adam be, he did not want to cause him any more trouble than he already did. And he certainly did not want to impose himself on Adam or his family or cause any sort of inconvenience.

But Adam wouldn't take no for an answer, he wanted to know what happened to his friend, what sort of trouble he got himself into and if he truly is fine as he said. He took Blake's exact location, it turns out he was not very far from his own apartment, the one he shares with Gwen in L.A. He was out in the neighborhood just wandering around on foot, so they decided to meet at a specific gas station which was in a close walking distance from where he was.

As soon as he hang up with Blake, Adam hurried back upstairs, carefully waking Bee up to tell her that he is going out to pick Blake up. He quickly put some clothes on, grabbed the car keys and headed for the door. He has strong suspicion now that Blake might have left the house because some sort of nasty argument he must have had with Gwen earlier. Although this kind of things has never happened before in their relationship, it must be the only reason for his friend to leave the house so late at night in such a hurry that he failed to take along his wallet, his jacket, or even the car keys.

As he was driving towards his friend's location, it suddenly started to rain. He remembered that Blake told him he had no jacket on so he sped up his drive. It took him about 35 minutes to finally reach the destination, It was now pouring heavy rain. He searched for Blake but couldn't find him in or around the gas station. And as he was reaching for his phone to call him, he spotted his tall figure running towards his car, hunched down with his soaking wet plaid shirt pulled over his head. He winced at the heart- wrenching sight of his friend and immediately started up his car to meet him halfway, he opened the passenger's door from inside and Blake finally got in.

"Woaah Blake you ok buddy? You're dripping water from head to toe.

"Hey! yeah, yeah am fine, just a bit cold". Blake answered breathlessly.

Adam reached for the heater switch on the car dash and turned it up on high. Then seeing his friend literally shivering in his seat he took off his jacket and handed it to him. "Here put this on" he ordered.

Blake graciously accepted Adam's jacket and draped it over his shoulders and thanked him for the kind gesture.

"What took u so long to reach the gas station man? it was supposed to be a 5 minutes' walk from your place? Did u get lost or something? And why didn't you take shelter somewhere, under a tree, into a building?" Adam asked intriguingly.

"Oh man", Blake sighed, "you won't believe what happened", he continued, "I mistakenly took the wrong shortcut ally and ended up circling the block of our apartment 3 times. It's a miracle I finally found my way to here!"

Adam couldn't help but to burst into laughter at his buddy's misadventure," Dude you must be the worst guy ever in giving or following directions, the worst in the whole wide world, you're like locationally challenged, am not sure this term exists though, but if it doesn't they should create it just for you." Realizing he might have gone a bit far with his joke he glanced over to his right only to see Blake giving him a very dirty look, and with a smirk on his face Blake retorted: "laugh it up, laugh it up some more, am glad you find my utter misery and misfortune a source of pure entertainment to you."

"Am sorry dude but I couldn't help it, you got lost in your own neighborhood!" there was a little laugh coming from Blake this time. It is true he admits it, although he's been living part time in LA for the past 8 years, he still is like a fish out of water.

'Hey speaking of your neighborhood, how bad was it? Adam asked.

"Pretty bad" answered Blake in a defeated manner. "I literally screwed the pooch this time".

"Dude first of all you should really stop dropping the word *literally* every 5 minutes into your conversation, you can't possibly screw the pooch like literally, it's weird and wrong and sick! And secondly am sure it's not that bad! You and Gwen never really fight about anything serious, not that I know of anyway. Did she like kick you out of the house for refusing to take your socks off in bed?

"haha very funny smartass! No, this time it got really serious!" replied Blake.

"What happened??..... C'mon spill it out already!" Adam inquired impatiently.

"I missed her, Adam", Blake said in a quiet almost inaudible voice.

"You what now? You missed her you said? So let me get this straight, even though she's in your face like 24/7 you managed to somehow miss her, which strangely led to a huge fight between you two that eventually got your ass kicked out of the house, into the streets, under pouring rain. Oh yeah it makes sense alright", Adam said sarcastically. "Wait a minute..." he continued, "is that a sexual thing, did you miss her like sexually? He asked making an awkward almost disgusted face.

"What"?? Blake said shockingly, "What are you talking about numbnuts"?

"What am I talking about? I thought we were talking about you missing Gwen and that huge fight you had with her! Are you feeling ok Blake? You are not getting sick from your little excursion under the rain are you? And he reached his hand out to feel Blake's forehead but he missed and got his eye instead which led Blake to flinch and scream: "My eye, you poked my eye you bonehead!"

"Sorry" Adam apologized.

"I was talking about Miranda you idiot! I missed HER!" Blake admitted while holding his eye still.

"Ohhh...Miranda! Now it makes sense!" Adam replied with a huge sigh of relief.

"Lately I can't stop thinking about her Adam! And things got real bad ever since that night I sang Over You at the Troy Gentry Tribute! It's like her memory haunted my heart and soul. Every time I close my eyes I see her smile, I feel her warm breath on my skin, I hear her sultry voice whispering in my ear! I can't get over her no matter how hard I tried!" Blake said desperately.

"I take it back, it IS pretty bad my friend! Am assuming you told Gwen about it and she got upset and kicked you out" Adam continued.

"why you keep saying that she kicked me out?! She did not, I left on my own!" Blake shot back angrily, and no, he replied I did not tell Gwen about it, she... kind of ...found out on her own".

"How did she find out Blake, what did you do"? Adam quizzed.

"You see tonight Gwen had like a thousand people over for dinner at the house, she had her brothers and their families, her cousins and second cousins, her aunt and uncle and some other people that I truthfully have never met before! I was really in no mood for entertaining guests. Usually you know me, am always up to it, but Not tonight. All I wanted tonight was to be left alone. So I picked up a couple of beers and retired to the bedroom as soon as the dinner was over.I was on my phone checking twitter and I somehow saw a post about Miranda...and did I mention that I was drinking? I don't remember thinking much about it but the next thing I knew I found myself sending her a message on whatsApp!" Blake recounted.

"OH No!" Adam exclaimed! "You did not!"

"Yes I did", Blake replied.

"And then what happened"? Asked Adam eagerly wanting to find out the rest of the story.

"Well, Blake continued, Gwen must have picked up on my grumpy mood so she followed me upstairs asking if everything was Ok. I said yes and that I just wanted some alone time, but she was not satisfied with my answer and she kept pushing and quizzing me; and don't ask me how cause I truly do not remember but she somehow got hold of my mobile phone and much to my misfortune she saw the WhatsApp message to Miranda! One thing led to another, and suddenly I found myself at the front door slamming the door behind me. Soon after I realized I was walking around the streets with no wallet, no jacket, and I wasn't going to get back knocking on the door asking for my stuff not after that dramatic exit. So I checked my pocket and was so thrilled when I found that at least I had my phone on me.

"WOW! Adam exclaimed and he glanced over and saw his buddy staring pensively out the window.

The ride to Adam's house continued in complete silence from both sides, finally reaching the house, Adam parked the car in the garage and spoke again: "hey Blake?"

"yea?" Blake responded.

"You should really lay off the liquor man!" Adam blurted out.

"Hey shut up!" replied Blake.

(TO BE CONTINUED)


	3. Just Like Old Times

Adam parked the car in the garage and turned off the engine. "We're here", he announced looking towards Blake.

"Adam, I really don't think this is a good idea", Blake restated looking at the window still. 

"what are you talking about man, Come on let's go". Adam opened the driver's door, but Blake wouldn't move. 

"I just don't want to invade your space", he explained, "your wife and children are there! I mean look at me for God's sake I look like a drunk bum ... maybe its best for me to stay at a hotel."

"Jesus Blake, stop with these nonsense!" Adam chastised, "Behati and the girls adore you man! Besides they are all sleeping right now...come on get out of the car before I drag your tall ass out myself", he warned , "and wipe that frown off your face, you're starting to look like grumpy cat."

knowing that Adam won't let him have his way no matter how hard he argued, Blake finally complied, he opened the passenger door and followed his friend towards the house.

Adam carefully opened the front door and the two men got inside. Blake was extra cautious not to make any noise and once inside he whispered "where do I sleep?"

"In Blake's room", Adam replied cheekily.

"Blake's room?", he questioned with a baffled look on his face.

"Yeah, you see, since your last stay at it we named the guest room Blake's room", Adam explained leading the way towards it , "it kind of still has that "Oklahoma farming" scent in it", he playfully added earning a heartfelt smile from Blake. "Make yourself comfortable, I 'll be right back", Adam said opening the door for his friend.

Stepping inside, Blake noted how everything in the room still looks exactly the same as last time he was there a little over three years ago. 

He remembered his prolonged stay at Adam's as if it was yesterday and suddenly all the emotions came flooding back to him; the heartbreak, the pain, the remorse, the self resentment. But also the comfort, the warmth, the love, the healing. He felt safe inside that room, he felt good. He took a deep breath and looked around the familiar space and suddenly his eye fell on something a bit too familiar laying on the night stand next to the bed." My baseball cap!" he shouted. he took a few steps closer and picked it up and as he was examining it Adam came back barging in with a pile of clothes in his arms. "Man, you should have left some pajamas in here before you left. I searched forever for a piece of clothing that could fit you". 

Realizing what Blake was holding, he swiftly added: "Oh I see you found your cap."

"I searched for ages for this baseball cap, why didn't you tell me you had it Adam" Blake asked him

"I thought you left it here as souvenir", Adam answered playfully.

"why would I do that? that's creepy. You know that's literally stealing", replied Blake.

"You're literally a moron! Here wear these." Adam interjected holding up to Blake's face a pair of baggy sweat pants and an overly sized shirt that has the word Maroon 5 written on the front. 

Staring at the word written on the shirt Blake said with an irritated look "you must be kidding me".

"Fine, if you don't want them, you can always sleep naked". Adam grinned removing the clothes from Blake's reach."

"I'll take them" Blake huffed not at all amused, and he snatched the dreaded fabrics from Adam's hands.

"Good boy"! Adam commented patting Blake's back knowing all too well his friend never sleeps naked not even if his life depended on it!" Hey remind me to snap a quick picture of you when you wear those!" he amusingly added.

"You know you have a very dry sense of humor", Blake retorted sarcastically.

"Listen I 'll go check up on the ladies upstairs and will fix us something hot to drink, in the meantime please take a shower, the water is nice and hot and I don't want you stinking up my Blake's room", Adam teased exiting the room while hearing his friend cursing under his breath and looking daggers at the back of his head.

Blake remembered well where the towels are placed, he grabbed one, stripped out of his damped clothes and headed to the shower, he turned on the hot faucet and stepped in. Damn he exclaimed! that water felt good! it welcomed his skin like a warm embrace, loosening up every single aching muscle of his body. What a crazy night he admitted! He thought about poor Gwen, she doesn't deserve what he did to her, she must be so disappointed, she must be thinking what an absolute jerk he was and she has all the right to think that way! Since the moment he left the house earlier tonight he has been waiting and preparing himself for that awful feeling of regret to get over him. But why hasn't it arrived yet? he wondered. He winced at the realization that as horrible as what he did is, he just can't seem to regret it! Why things had to be so complicated for him! Blake was lost in his tortuous thoughts when suddenly he heard a loud bang on the door.

You OK Cowboy? shouted Adam with a concerned tone. 

"Yea yea coming out", he replied, turning off the water. He wrapped himself in a long towel, lift it up to cover most of his naked torso and walked into the bedroom where Adam was impatiently waiting with two cups of hot chocolate in hands. He handed one to Blake who gratefully thanked him.

"I was this close to kicking the door open man, what took you so long in there? he asked with a worried look. I thought you hanged yourself or had a heart attack, I called you like 3 times, didn't you hear me ?" 

"I swear I did not" Blake honestly replied taking a sip of the hot drink. "And for your information I left the door unlocked you could have easily opened it", he pleasantly added in an effort to lighten up the mood a little bit.

"Thank God I didn't know that, Imagine seing your naked ass in there , that would have scarred me for life"! Adam reciprocated faking a disgusted facial expression.

"Hey don't make me drop this towel to the ground right now" Blake warned playfully.

"Haha", Adam laughed ."You know you wouldn't do it. You're that much of a prude! Just look at yourself, are you covering your boobs with that towel"?! Adam taunted grinning from ear to ear at the funny sight of his friend. 

"I'd rather be a prude than to be a proud exhibitionist like you" Blake shot back, "Remember the first thing you told me when I came to live with you? you said to me with a serious face: "rule number one, I walk naked in my own house".

"That's right I wanted to give you a heads up and if I recall correctly you never complained!" Adam reminded him.

"That's how badly I wanted a place to stay", Blake justified.

" Yeah and that's why you were staring at my nude body like an artist admiring a masterpiece", Adam recounted amusingly.

" what are you talking about, I did not stare! you kept prancing around, literally shoving your 'nakedness' in my face! what was I suppose to do? wear a damn blindfold all day!" Blake retorted.

"You liked it! admit it!" Adam pushed.

"Am not admitting to anything! he hollered! "although I have to give it to you, unlike mine you do have a nice body," Blake finally confessed.

"Thank you I appreciate it, I would love to reciprocate the compliment or to comment on yours, but I have never seen you naked, so I wouldn't know. Am assuming you're OK though! Adam joked.

OK! just OK? that's the best you can say? came Blake's reply.

Taking note of his friend's annoyingly conspicuous body confidence or lack of it, Adam finally decided to give Blake a piece of his mind. 

"You know what buddy, he lectured, "I have had it with your low self esteem. Sit down and Listen carefully to me man cause am only going to say this once and this time am dead serious about it." 

Surprised at his friend's sudden change of demeanor, Blake complied, he sat down on the bed and waited for Adam's words.

"Blake, Adam started crossing his arms to his chest , "You're 6.'5 with broad shoulders, nicely built, you have gorgeous hair, mesmerizing blue eyes and the most adorable smile ever! And those dimples that I have yet to see tonight are freaking irrisistible" !

Overwhelmed by the amount of compliments, Blake stood up, opened his mouth to speak but he was instantly shoved back to the bed again...

"I haven't finished yet, interrupted Adam. "you are a funny , smart, lovable, charismatic, fun to be around, and the most cherished quality of it all is that although you are stupid like 90 percent of the time you do possess a heart of an innocent 6 year old child!"he continued, "So don't you dare sell yourself short anymore, he warned with a serious tone waving his finger towards his friend.

Literally rendered speechless by Adam's flirtatious pep talk , Blake opened his mouth to speak but he didn't know what to say, so he took another sip of his hot chocolate and went to check his phone for any messages or calls, but finding no new notifications he sighed and put it back on the night stand. He walked back to the bed and regained his seating position then he looked up to face Adam who was still standing put in the same spot and he sheepishly said: " you forgot to mention my sexy double chin "pointing his finger to emphasize the spot on his face!

At that last remark Adam suddenly burst out laughing uncontrollably, and soon after Blake chimed in with his signature wheeze laughs. They both almost fell apart and when the laughing bits gradually died out after a noticeable amount of time, Adam joined his buddy on the bed, he sat down and asked a rather anticipated question.

"So did Miranda replied to your message?"

Blake shook his head no and most instantly did Adam notice the frown creeping back in on his face." 

"she probably hasn't seen it yet" Adam comforted.

"Oh yes she did, she saw it like two minutes after I sent it, but she did not reply". Blake confessed looking down to the floor.

"Give her some time she's probably shocked and she doesn't know what to say, you do realize it has been ages since you communicated." Adam analysed.

"yeah well maybe its for the best she did not reply" Blake added trying to hide his disappointment.

"Don't overthink it buddy! Hey why don't you put your pajamas on I don't want you catching a cold on my watch, and get some sleep". he looked at his watch to check the time and noted: "Wow its 4 AM and we have to be on the voice set in a few hours . I am going to bed, tomorrow we will sort everything out, I promise." He stood up took blake's head in his hands and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

He was now heading for the door but he remembered a very important question he needed to ask his friend :"by the way what exactly did you text Miranda?"

"Hey", Blake smoothly replied.

"What?" Adam asked thinking he must have misheard his reply.

"I just sent her hey", Blake clarified.

"Dude your killing yourself with sorrow and grief and your girlfriend kicked you out on the streets for sending your ex wife the word "hey"? he questioned with an obvious shocked face.

Blake just nodded his head in affirmation.

"You're an idiot"! Adam shouted 

"You still like my dimples though", Blake playfully uttered.

Adam kept smiling at Blake's mischief as he was opening the door handle to go back to his own bedroom to get a couple of hours of sleep, but before disappearing out of sight Blake called his name.

B: Hey Adam?

A: Yes Blake?

B: thank you !

A: For calling you an idiot?

B: No! For being the only constant in my life.

"Night Blake", Adam said with a beaming and proud face as he exited Blake's room.

Realizing he just made his friend's day (or night) with that last well earned remark, Blake waited for Adam to close the door and he murmured cheekily: "Good night daddy".

 


	4. About Adam

Blake returned from a quick trip to the bathroom, he checked the time on his mobile phone, it announced 3.45 AM. He found his way to the bed and carefully crawled in avoiding to step on Betty who was curled up at the bed’ side on the floor. He glanced to his right where Gwen was sleeping next to him. The moon light shining through the window at this time enhanced even more the eternal beauty of her face, he looked closer as to check for any lines or blemishes that 50 years of age would curse any human face but amazingly found none! Even with no make-up on that youthful “goddess” puts to shame most women half her age! How lucky he must be he wondered. Gwen’s appearance also reflects the beauty of her soul, he still cannot believe how she gracefully handled his little gaffe last month, his infamous attempt to contact his ex-wife! That attempt that was “luckily” met with no reply from Miranda’s end, he sincerely regretted and blamed it majorly on his alcohol consumption and partly on his curiosity to find out the latest on a woman he spent almost a decade with. An “innocent” attempt that he justified never meant to translate any sort of reconciliation and never hoped to rekindle any flame that was long put out. Those were the exact pretexts he gave to Gwen and those were the exact pretexts she so kindly accepted! He still can’t believe how fast she forgave him and how quickly she took him back! Yes, his attempt to contact Miranda was only through an innocent “hey” as Adam has put it but was this “Hey” truly that innocent? He wondered. Would he still be regretting contacting her if she had replied to him? Would he be sleeping still next to this beauty had Miranda answered his desperate message. A question he is struggling still to give an honest answer to.

But he quickly brushed that thought off his mind, Miranda is the true depiction of evil he countered! His feelings for her are nothing more than those of lust, depicting strong sexual urge that he just have to better control in the future, he finally assured himself. What he has with Gwen is the exact opposite. It’s the real deal. Their love is pure, untainted, uncomplicated, he thought while nodding his head in confirmation…Unstimulating, uninteresting, unexciting he offhandedly continued wincing apologetically at his shameful train of thought.  
Gwen deserved better he restated! She is literally an angel. Ok not literally, he mentally argued, she is an angel minus the wings. And he chuckled a bit at this thought as he remembered how Adam would bust his chops every time he would drop the word “literally” where it is undue into the conversation. This little chuckle though soon turned into a glum expression as Blake geared his thoughts deeply towards Adam.  
Adam has really been a good friend to him, Blake admitted. He was always there for him in his ups and his downs, faithfully sharing his happiness and kindly consoling him in his misery. He could not count the number of times Adam took him in every time he needed a place to crash in, a shoulder to cry on or a patient ear to listen. Yes, he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes and he does get on his nerves constantly but he truly loves him and he couldn’t imagine how life would be if Adam wasn’t around to share it with him.  
Since the very beginning he and Adam have worked side by side on the coaches’ panel on The Voice. Their chemistry was so flagrant that it soon blossomed into a beautiful bromance. The fans of the show quickly picked on their special bond and soon created a couple name for them; “shevine” they called them. They even ultimately, sincerely wondered if their bromance was just a brotherly love between two straight guys, a playful act for the cameras or there were more intimate feelings in the equation.

Blake always said in many interviews and in different occasions that he did not know what to do on the show if he didn’t have Adam working alongside with him.  
But now he might just have to figure it out because that “son of a bitch” is leaving the Voice!!!

The voice is now filming their knockout round for season 16, it has been 2 weeks that the two of them had not talked except for when the cameras are rolling on the set of the voice. And even while on camera, their usual friendly banter has lost its friendly part. They are now ripping constantly on each other without the usual afterwards laughing from Blake and without the “am kidding” and the “I still love you” bits that Adam always follows up with every time he says something offensive about his friend. There were no chatting in between takes nor any trip to each other’s’ chairs. Once the filming was over every one just pretty much headed straight home. The other coaches and crew picked up on their aggressive behavior, and many time they had to cut the filming when the argument between the two reached a highly elevated level. They even once rescheduled a whole taping earning both a serious warning note from the new producer that was recently added to the production team.  
It all started about two weeks ago Blake believed, when they both received their usual annual contracts renewal. it has been customary for Adam and Blake to both get their contracts renewed for 1 year (hence 2 seasons) every year. Their contracts were pretty much automatically renewed and mailed to them.  
The following day while on set, Adam blatantly announced to Blake his decision to quit the Voice, informing him that he already presented his resignation letter and he is just waiting for the producers to accept it. And once they will, season 16 will officially be his last. And when asked about the reason for his sudden decision Adam only said that he just has had it with the show.

Blake couldn’t help but to confront him about the selfish nature of his decision and he told him he should have concerted with him first before resigning, but Adam continued with his hostile attitude lashing out on Blake telling him that it’s none of his damn business.  
Baffled, shocked and deeply hurt by his harsh words and sudden change of attitude, Blake vowed to never ever talk to him again outside of the voice set.

It’s the second time this month that Blake has found himself unable to sleep, the first time was when he had that fight with Gwen about Miranda. That rainy night he was drunk, vulnerable and cold and he needed a friend to lean on so he called Adam who came to pick him up and invited him to spend the night at his house. He was absolutely kind, sweet and supportive as he would always be and he did make him feel better about himself. That crazy dude even named the guest room after him, Blake remembered.  
But this time the cause of Blake’s insomnia is none other than Adam himself! He wondered what the hell happened to his friend and why the sudden change in his behavior. If he did not know him any better he would bet his money that the reason was simply jealousy and bitterness. Adam just couldn’t handle Blake’s ongoing success in comparison with his own repeated defeat, misfortune and loss of popularity on the show! But No Adam was not like that at all, that dude adores him and wishes nothing but the very best for him so there must be a different reason for it all and it better be a damn good one! He just have to dig a bit deeper to figure it out.

The next day Blake was awaken by Gwen, she reminded him that he has to be on the set of the voice in one hour. He was tired and sleepy but he got out anyway, had a quick shower, a little bite to eat with Gwen and the kids and headed straight to work.

Arriving on the Voice’s set, he went directly to Adam’s trailer. He intended to have a serious word with him prying him to find out the whole truth behind his decision to quit the voice even if he had to literally pull the words out of Adam’s mouth! He knocked on the door but received no answer, he searched for him in “make up” and “dresser” but couldn’t find him either. Usually Adam would be the last person to arrive on stage but this time he was there quite early, Blake finally found him at John’s chair chatting with him. Kelly on the other hand was still in hair &make up. He approached the two, greeted John, looked at Adam and said in a rather serious tone, ” Can I have a word with you?”  
“What is it Blake”, Adam answered nonchalantly.  
“In private please”, Blake retorted.  
“Can’t you see am talking with John here, ill catch up with you later!” Adam said brushing him off.  
Blake could feel his veins popping out of his neck in anger and frustration but trying to keep his cool, he swallowed hard and walked straight to his seat. He kept himself busy looking aimlessly at his phone then Kelly arrived and he chatted with her for quite some time while stealing few glances towards Adam who was still looking busy with John .

Few minutes later, the stage manager announced the beginning of the taping and the cameras started rolling.  
Two artists from Blake’s team were competing in a knock- out round, they each sang one song, received both very high praises from all coaches as well as from their own, and when it was time to choose the winner, Blake completed his task by choosing one contestant and hoped that the other would get stolen from one of the other coaches. His wish did indeed come true and as soon as he announced the winner of the knockout all 3 coaches simultaneously pressed their steal button for the remaining contestant.  
While both Kelly and John made solid pitches to convince him to join their teams, Adam’s pitch mainly consisted of trashing Blake’s character, faulting his decision and calling him names! He even went as far as calling him a “retarded hick”. The audience started laughing at Adam’s choice of words and some of them really questioned whether he really meant them.  
But Blake wasn’t finding any of these amusing, he has just had it with Adam’s questionable attitude so he gestured to the director to cut the filming and instantly jumped out of his seat and stormed towards Adam with steam coming out of his ears. He then forcefully grabbed him by the collar of his shirt getting him up to his feet. That shocking scene was met by utter silence from the audience. Kelly opened her mouth in shock and John was convinced Blake was going to kick Adam’s ass in public. And out of the blue and within less than couple of seconds, a dozen men gathered around the two and were prepared to stop any physical altercation!

“What the fuck is wrong with you Adam”? Blake yelled still closing in on Adam preventing him from fleeing his grip!  
“Just leave me alone ok!” Adam shouted back while trying to no avail to shove Blake’s body away from his.

At this moment Blake could see few tears forming in Adam’s eyes and he suddenly felt the pain and despair in his voice. So he instantly threw his arms up in the air letting go of Adam’s body and he spoke softly and in a very sympathetic tone he said, “let’s talk, please. I need to talk to you!... My trailer?” 

Adam nodded in affirmation and he led the way out of the stage, Blake followed in closely....


	5. Side by side

....At this moment Blake could see few tears forming in Adam’s eyes and he suddenly felt the pain and despair in his voice. So he instantly threw his arms up in the air letting go of Adam’s body and he spoke softly and in a very sympathetic tone he said “let’s talk please I need to talk to you! My trailer?”  
Adam nodded in affirmation and he led the way out of the stage, Blake followed in closely.

...Meanwhile the director announced an early one hour lunch break and the audience broke into noisy whispers. John joined Kelly at her chair to try to pry out additional information. The contestants still at the stage, were advised that they will redo the filming of the coaches’ comments after the break.  
At that point producers were seen conferring with each other, with angry looks on their faces.

The two men reached Blake’s trailer in utter silence, the country coach opened the door letting his friend in and shut it loudly behind him. Once inside Blake went straight to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of whiskey, drank his in one shot and handed the other to Adam. 

“Thanks but I’ll pass”, Adam said refusing the drink from his friend. “You really shouldn’t be drinking so early in the day”, he continued.  
Blake swallowed the other drink quickly, held the empty glass to Adam’s face and said: “do you see this?” pointing his finger to the glass, “this drink is the only thing that is keeping me from whopping your sorry ass right now!”  
“Is that so big country"? Adam sarcastically shot back, "Come on show me what you got!,He challenged. "You already demonstrated your physical skills on stage, why don’t you finish what you started! or was it all an act for the cameras? A boost for the ratings maybe? I bet the new hot-shot producer put you up to it", he continued .  
Fed up with his friend's ranting, Blake shouted back: “Cut the crap Adam, am really not in the mood for your smart ass remarks, tell me what the matter is…. spill it out man!”  
“Are you talking about me quitting the show? is that it?” asked Adam casually.  
“Yes Einstein I am!” Blake replied  
“Why do you even care? It has nothing to do with you! That’s my personal decision and am free to take it unilaterally!” came Adam’s response  
“But why do you have to act like a damn dick about it? treating me like shit, like you had some sort of vendetta against me, I thought we were friends." Blake questioned, disappointment clearly visible on his face. “I thought we were a team,” He continued “I thought we had a verbal understanding that we either work together or we quit together! And all the sudden you decide to quit and you only tell me about it after the fact? don’t you think that after all these years that we’ve worked side by side, after all the ups and downs that we have overcome together as friends, don’t you think you owe me a little heads up, a little explanation maybe, a reasonable one?!”  
Not finding the right answer to his friend’s legitimate questions, Adam just kept silent and not wanting to catch Blake’s burning gaze he just lowered his head and stared at the ground.  
But Blake wouldn’t give up so easily he grabbed Adam’s chin, lifted his head up and asked: “why did you want to quit? what happened? Is it something I did? I mean I know these past couple of seasons were not exactly the best you had but still I thought you enjoyed doing it? And why now? After that they renewed our contracts, are you aware of the huge penalty amount you’ll be owing? 

At this moment Adam felt pressured to come clean, there was really no point in continuing with his charade. He walked away from his friend’s reach took a seat on Blake’s custom sized “huge-ass” sofa, lowered his gaze again to the ground and bashfully admitted: “Blake, I did not receive a contract renewal this time”.

“What”? Blake asked with a clearly baffled look.  
“They renewed your contract but not mine”, he explained. “Instead of a renewal I received in the mail a notice of reevaluation of my contract!” Adam continued. “Apparently there is a new rule in production, all coaches who receive low or bad fan reviews are automatically submitted to a reevaluation of their contracts; and with all the negative feedback I got last season it was only natural to reevaluate mine!”  
“To hell with this rule” Blake shot back angrily, coming to his friend’s defense. “Which one of the idiots in production came up with it, the new guy isn’t it?” He asked  
“Yes”, replied Adam calmly.  
“Well he can take his rule and shove it where the sun don’t shine! We are not obliged to play by the rule Adam. You know why? cause we are the voice, you are the voice, you and I buddy we made this show.” Blake comforted.  
“I know we are not obliged by their rule, agreed Adam. “That’s why I quit”, he explained… “That and to spare myself the humiliation that comes with being fired!” he admitted.  
“Well you’re missing a very important thing here buddy”, Blake noted to his friend.  
“What’s that”? Asked him Adam.  
“If you’re leaving am leaving too, we come as one package remember?!” Blake announced.  
“No, no, no Blake", Adam objected in a rush of panic, “don’t you dare go there”! He warned.” You see, that is the exact reason why I’ve been acting like an asshole to you the whole time”, he explained. “I knew that this will happen if I told you the truth! I wanted to get on your ugly side man, I wanted you to hate my guts so bad, to the point where you won’t feel obliged to do me any favors, none whatsoever. I don’t want you to quit in solidarity with me. I don’t want you to quit at all! You love this, all of it, that’s your life man! God damn it Blake, you sacrificed the love of your life for the sake of this show!” Adam finally pointed out.  
“Hey, hey, wait a sec here Adam!" Blake interrupted. “Let me clarify a few points for you. First of all..”, Blake started putting one finger up, “..You, don’t get to decide what is best for me, I know what I want and I know what am doing. So don’t worry about me, am a big boy and I can take care of myself! And secondly”, he continued “Did you really think that I would do this show without you? How stupid are you? Can you imagine me working here without you on the far end to my right, sitting way too comfortably in that red chair, flaunting your 1000 dollars Pajama suit, with one foot shamelessly up on the table, infuriating the hell out of me on a daily basis?! If you’re not there who would I be using as a punching bag! No one can take my punches like you do!” Blake pleasantly joked.  
“Boy do I feel special”, Adam interrupted with a smirk.  
“Yeah, yeah whatever, listen to me dude”, Blake continued with his arguments, “yes you are right I love this show, no wait I adore it even but that is just because you are in it, bonehead! If you were to leave I won’t even step a foot in here no more! And I won’t be leaving in solidarity with you as you have just put it, nor because I would feel sorry for you, God no! I know you’ll be just fine! I’ll be doing it for me! You understand now? GOD you are an idiot!” He finally exclaimed as he was heading again to the liquor cabinet to pour himself yet another drink.

By now we can see that Adam has started to relax a little, his facial features had softened and is smiling more naturally to Blake’s pleasant arguments but then he remembered a very important point, he stood up walked to his friend and with a concerned voice he remarked :  
“Blake, the penalty does not apply in my case because they did not renew my contract, but if you quit now you’ll be breaching your contract and you’ll be the one ending up with a huge penalty to pay!”

“Am aware of that thanks for reminding me, but don’t worry, neither one of us is leaving the show anytime soon”. Blake assured him.  
“Am not going to stick around and have them fire me at the end of this season” Adam re-argued.

“They won’t fire you, I promise”. Blake reassured him. “Listen”, he continued, “am no lawyer but am pretty much certain that Re-evaluating the contract does not necessary mean omission of renewal, not in your case anyway,” he rationalized. “Don’t worry about it, just consider it a little slap on the wrist that’s all. New producer comes along he has to bring something new to the table. But all the production team know all too well that they can’t let you go. As a matter of fact I can bet you a thousand dollars right now that they will not accept your resignation letter. Not only that but they will soon mail you a brand new renewal contract. Just mark my words! Blake finally concluded.

"Wow!" Adam exclaimed. "You don’t look the way you sound Blake, he joked. You sound smart but you look..."  
“I look like a retarded hick?” Blake interrupted, reminding him of his own hurtful words earlier.  
“Am sorry about that by the way", Adam apologized sincerely, "you know I did not mean any of it.”  
“I know” Blake replied, “so do you think we should get back in set before they send me too a re-evaluation notice”, He asked while heading for the door.  
“Nah they will never do it! You are a damn sweetheart, they love you way too much!” Adam answered cheekily following Blake towards the door.  
“And am smart too”, Blake reminded him grinning from ear to ear.  
“Oh boy, I will never hear the end of it now!” Adam playfully said.

As they were walking towards the set, Blake still had an important question to ask his friend.  
“Hey Adam?" he called, "if the situation was reversed and I were to leave the voice, would you be willing to do the show without me? Blake questioned curiously.  
“Are you kidding me, I won’t be willing to breathe without you Blake.” replied Adam wholeheartedly.

Satisfied with his friend’s answer, Blake put an arm around Adam as they both came full view to meet the anxiously waiting audience. At the heart warming sight of their reconciliation, everyone greeted them with a heated round of applause! People were clapping, cheering and whistling. Everyone chimed in, the audience, the crew and the coaches. 

They gained their usual seating position at the red chairs, and just when the stage director was ready to announce the resuming of taping, Blake’s phone suddenly went off. He grabbed it to put it on silent mode but then his jaw was literally dropped in surprise when he saw the flashing message on the screen. It reads: "incoming voice call from MIRANDA."

Oh boy, he sighed!


	6. A Cold Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake finds out about Miranda's marriage!

Date 16 FEB 2019. 

A COLD SURPRISE.

It was one hell of a cold evening, but the crowd was huge tonight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Despite the icy cold weather, the stage at the Denny Sanford Premier center was packed with people screaming and cheering for Blake and singing along with his songs.  
This is the 3rd concert of his “Friends and Heroes” tour. He started his first in his home state Oklahoma and it was nothing less than a whopping success with his veteran special guests making the night “one of the best he ever had”, by Shelton’s words.  
The concert is towards its ending; this is his last song. He is doing an encore of “God gave me you”. Despite being on stage for more than 2 hours, he is still pouring his heart and soul into this song. That song that had clearly been a fan favorite since its release in 2011 is undoubtedly one of the closest ones to Blake’s heart. He always sings it with so much emotion and devotion and although it’s the last song of 31 ones he already performed tonight, his voice does not falter and he delivers as best as can be.  
The concert finally came to an end and Blake went backstage with his band members and crew joining the party of artists participating. They were all congratulating one another on a successful night, everyone was drinking and cheering. Blake was chatting with Trace Adkins and John Anderson when he noticed from across the room Kevin his guitar player_ who was hanging with band members Kara and Jenee_ was shooting strange, puzzling looks towards him while simultaneously checking his cell phone. Intrigued by his band mate strange behavior, Blake excused himself and headed his way.  
Seeing him approaching Kevin immediately put his cellphone away.  
“Hey Guys what’s up:” Blake greeted. He then looked directly at Kevin and said, “Call me crazy dude but either you were checking me out or you have something important to tell me?”  
Knowing that he just exposed himself, Kevin decided to share what he just found out.  
“Blake haven’t you heard the news yet? He asked.  
News, what news? Blake questioned.  
About Miranda? Kevin answered, did you know about it beforehand?  
“What about Miranda what are you talking about Kevin?” Blake shot back starting to get a bit annoyed.  
“Man, she just posted on Twitter that she got married!” Kevin finally spat out.  
“Hahaha very funny,” Blake replied sarcastically not believing any of this.  
“Just check it out dude, it’s all over twitter!”  
Noting the serious tone in Kevin’s voice, Blake’s face changed into a gloomy one, his lips tightened and he swallowed hard. Then with no further delay he reached for his phone to check his twitter feed and almost instantly his eyes fell on Miranda’s tweet. He was staring at it for a good couple of minutes, reading it over and over again, as if to examine its authenticity. He even ran down the possibility that this might all be a fat joke, an early April’s fool maybe? He checked the photos and the comments looking for clues to refute the tweet but couldn’t find what he was looking for.  
“You Ok, Blake? Kara asked worryingly.  
“Am sorry buddy I thought you knew about it”! Kevin justified apologetically.  
But as if he heard nothing of his friend’s words, he spun around and walked away silently. Staring still at his cell phone, He then headed for the exit door and disappeared.  
I told you not to say anything! Kara shouted angrily at Kevin.  
“Oh Come on! He was going to find out sooner or later it’s not like it’s a big secret, but honest to God I was surprised he did not know about it already.” Came Kevin’s reply.

Blake went straight to the hotel where he was staying. He was lying in bed drinking straight from a bottle of Vodka and with an empty one lying next to him. He was tired, confused, shocked and angry! Yes he was angry as hell despite telling everyone including Gwen who called him on his way to the hotel to check on him when she heard the news, that he was feeling great and that he doesn’t give a fuck about Miranda’s wedding news.  
He couldn’t help but wondering why he is feeling all those angry emotions. After all, he was the one who did not return her call three months earlier. And he started questioning the reason behind her infamous call! Was she calling to inform him about her marriage? Was she calling to ask for his blessing or to rub it in his face? Is it possible though that the reason behind her call was to see if she might still have a chance with him especially since he was the one who texted her beforehand? Did she marry a random guy just to spite him?  
Maybe Adam was right he admitted, he should have taken his advice and called her back to find out exactly what she wanted. But he couldn’t risk falling under her spell, and most importantly he did not want to screw things up with Gwen again. Not after he promised her that he has absolutely zero lingering feeling for Miranda.  
All these questions popping repeatedly into his head were intensifying a killer headache! He wished he could just shut his brain down, but thoughts kept creeping in there and he felt a huge tension building up inside his head. He reached for the counter drawer, grabbed a bottle of Tylenol, took 2 tablets, washed them down with a big gulp of Vodka and he closed his eyes.  
He woke up the next morning with an empty bottle of vodka still in his hand. For a few seconds he couldn’t remember what happened the night before, it took him quite some time to even realize where he was and what he was doing. But his memory soon came back to him and he suddenly recalled Miranda’s news. He quickly looked for his phone and checked twitter again, unfortunately nothing has changed; the news was all over the place. Every magazine and every press outlet is reporting it. He checked the time, it was 10 AM. As he was getting out of the bed, a bout of nausea suddenly got hold of him. And little did he know he found himself kneeling over the bathroom toilet retching uncontrollably. He stayed there for quite some time. Although there were no words that could best describe the miserable state he was in, he defied his sudden sickness and quickly got to his feet. Then realizing he had a flight to Oklahoma to catch in a couple of hours he headed to the sink, splashed cold water over his face while simultaneously cursing at his misfortune. He then went back to the bedroom and grabbed his phone again, this time it was to check for new messages. There was about a hundred ones that he did not even bother to open, a couple from Gwen he briefly replied to and then scrolling down his eyes fell on a message that read: “Call me if you want to talk”. That message was from Adam Levine. Almost instantly he clicked on Adam’s name and made the call.  
It was 8 AM in Los Angeles, CA. Adam was still in bed sleeping when he was awaken by a phone call he pretty much anticipated. As soon as the second ring registered he immediately swiped the screen to answer while quickly getting up and exiting the bedroom.  
“Blake my man”, He answered in a quite uplifting mood trying to lighten up the weight of the unsettling news his friend must have heard.  
“Am glad one of us had a good night” Blake replied sarcastically.  
“Oh come on, I heard you killed at Sioux Falls last night!” Adam retorted still trying to spread positive vibes.  
“Is that the only thing you heard dumbass?” Blake shot back almost running out of patience.  
“Alright Blake shall we address the elephant in the room?" Adam asked prompting his friend to unleash his troubled thoughts.  
“You were right I should have returned her call when I had the chance 3 months ago, what if she…” Blake started but was suddenly interrupted by Adam  
“No, no Blake don’t,” he commanded. “Listen man”, he continued “I know you’re hurt right now, you are physically and emotionally drained, you’re shocked, confused, depressed and angry. You are probably drowning your sorrow with a bottle or two of hard liquor. But trust me buddy, it will get better and you will soon enough realize that Miranda getting married is the best thing that happened to you.  
“ I .. I …” Blake attempted to argue but was too choked up to continue talking.  
Noticing his buddy was overwhelmed with emotion, Adam took over with the conversation …”Listen man, don’t speak just listen, I don’t know whether or not you should have answered Miranda’s call and I sure don’t know why she was calling you but it doesn’t matter really.  
I Know you are still nursing a broken heart and you probably still have some feelings for her, I understand and it is totally normal, you guys were together for more than 10 years! But I think Miranda just did you a big favor. She let go, Blake. And now it’s time for you to do the same. You can’t let feelings that are obviously not going anywhere destroy your future, man. You deserve better!  
Noting that Blake is silent still, Adam paused for a second and asked: “you still with me buddy?”  
A muffled “u-huh” is the only thing that Blake manage to utter. So Adam continued with his pep talk:  
“You deserve to start a family of your own, Blake. To get married maybe, have a kid or two. Man, I can’t wait for you to experience fatherhood, it is the ultimate best feeling ever! I bet it will look good on you and any kid you’ll have will be the luckiest in the world. “  
At these uplifting words from Adam, a skeptical Blake broke his silence and said:  
“I think it’s too late for me to start a family of my own, Adam”  
“Says who, Grandpa”, Adam shot back sarcastically.  
“Says 2 failed marriages, a 4 year relationship with a mother of 3 and 3 boys who no matter how much they love me, will never ever call me Dad.” Blake replied blatantly.  
His honest answer rendered Adam speechless, there was a moment of silence from both men but then Blake added:  
“I love Gwen to pieces, she’s my best friend and I always look forward to spending time with her and the boys, but I don’t know if I can love her the way she loves me.”  
Realizing that Blake has just openly approached a very sensitive subject, Adam felt free to carry on with that same thought and he said:  
“Blake this is exactly my whole point, you see buddy, now you can focus on this part of your life. Focus on the outcome of your relationship with Gwen! Now that you don’t have the Miranda card to hold you back you can objectively evaluate your feelings for Gwen and review your future with her. You will finally be able to decide if she is the family you want to live happily ever after with, thus take a step further to commit to her; or you will find yourself unable to reciprocate her love regardless of Miranda, and you will call it quits and find your happiness elsewhere.  
“Blake believe me dude you will find happiness it might be with Gwen or it might even be with someone else, I don’t know. One thing I know for sure buddy is that things will get better soon, it might not be tomorrow and certainly not today, but very soon I promise. And eventually you will get what you want and you will find what you are looking for in love because you are a great guy and an awesome human being and good things happen to good people!”

“Wow, thanks for the compliment but how can you be so sure about it”? Blake asked his friend.  
“I just know it man, you have to trust me on this one.” Adam assured. “Hey remember when you told me a few months ago that you were 100 percent were sure that NBC was going to renew my contract, and against all odds I believed you man, and what happened? it turned out you were right and here I am stronger than ever over there, now it’s your turn to believe me buddy.” He finally concluded.  
“Hey you know what? You are wrong about one thing though”, Blake announced.  
Yeah? What’s that? Questioned Adam.  
“You said things will get better but certainly not today. You are wrong! Things are already getting better man. I wish you were here buddy.” Blake declared wholeheartedly.  
“Blake you know me, just say the word and I will take the first flight to Sioux Falls”, Adam replied without hesitation.  
“I know man I wish you could, but I have a plane to catch in less than 2 hours, I need to be in Oklahoma tonight, Gwen and the kids are coming over, and I don’t want her to think this whole thing has affected me.” Answered Blake.  
A: “I understand, just promise me one thing big guy”  
B: “What’s that?”  
A: “Anytime you need to talk, just call me, ok.”  
B: “I promise Dr. Phil!”  
A: “Hey why don’t you go grab a bite to eat and pack your stuff up before you miss your plane”.  
B: “Eat? No thank you I think I’ll pass. Dude I just spent a good 30 minutes knelt down over the toilet, puking my guts out! I literally lost my small intestine in there”  
A: “That is not humanely possible you dummy... ‘You feeling Ok now?.”  
B: “much better, thank you”  
A: “Great...... Hey Blake, take good care of yourself and text me when you arrive to Oklahoma.”  
B: I will. I love you Adam.  
A: Love you too buddy!

THE END


End file.
